The Hills Have Eyes II
by Cassie08
Summary: The story of what happened between the first and second movie with Bobby and Brenda and Doug and Catherine, cuz we all wanna know what happened to them! This was written before the second movie came out, so we didn't copy anything, we swear! NO SLASH
1. Profiles

**Profiles**

Full Name Elaine Renee Connely

Age 16

Birthday May 29, 1991

Eye Color Caribbean Blue

Hair Longish, curly dark brown

Height Average

Weight/Build Light, around 130, strongish

Personality/Hobbies Loves to read and write, sarcastic and romantic. Lighthearted and bubbly until she'd home or her family is brought up. Reading and writing are her way to escape. She doesn't really have any friends except for her older brother, Edward.

History Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona with her year-older brother, Edward. Their parents fell into bad habits when Edward was around 7. They've hit him his whole life, but only lightly or verbally abused El. Near El's 17th birthday, her dad finally snapped and hit her. Edward then led the way out the door and to the car, planning to flee to Texas.

Name: Edward

Age: 17 (18 in a few months)

Hair: Black  
Eyes: Gray  
Build: Tall and muscular

Personality: Little overprotective of his sister, El and would do anything for her. Not really open with people. Has CHS(chronic hero syndrome), even if he doesn't know it. Subdued. (Character will develop.)

History: Parents became abusive the year he turned 7 and he vowed not to let them hurt El. 


	2. Chapter 1 Feeling Memories

As the bus pulled away, I could already hear the shouting from inside my house. Not that this was unusual; it was just even louder than it had been lately. As I walked, I felt my shoulders automatically hunch down and the smile leave my face, as it always did when I entered my house. It was the easiest way to pass through unnoticed. By now, I was used to it.

I had only had to ride the bus because Edward was gone already when I left class. I was attending summer school and so was he; it was the only way to escape our home and the fighting. From the minute I'd seen that our truck wasn't there, I'd known that afternoon wouldn't be good.

Edward only left me behind when our parents called him home early, which only happened when they were _really_ pissed off. I shuddered to think of the bruises he would have to hide tomorrow at school. But one more year, and he would be free to leave, except that he wouldn't. He refused to leave me behind, and kept saying that he wasn't going anywhere until I could lave too. But our parents had never hit me, only him, and never for a good reason, as if one existed.

I opened the door as quietly as I could, the out coming voices slamming me in the face like a harsh wind. I entered, closing it behind me, and made my way toward the kitchen. I had to cross it to get to the stairs.

As I went through, I glanced Edward's way. He was face to face with my dad, his eye already turning black, but just like always, I couldn't understand what they were fighting about. The words all blurred together in my head.

"Elaine!" I heard my dad's voice yell, and I cringed, halting mere feet from the steps. I turned to face him. "You're next! Don't move!"

The part of me that knew I'd done nothing wrong wanted to ask why, but the part that knew my dad all too well didn't say a word, so I just nodded.

"El, go upstairs." Edward said.

Our dad gave him a lethal look, and they were into it again. I didn't know whether to stay or go, but it was more risky to disobey dad, so I stayed put.

"Go upstairs!" were the only words I understood in the endless babble. Edward's voice, of course. But then, there was a loud pop as my father punched him square in the jaw. He spun around, but did not hit the floor. He was almost as big as my father now, and it was harder to get him down. Nevertheless, it was the hardest I'd seen my dad hit Edward, and I was angry all of a sudden, tired of hiding in the corner and watching my big brother be hurt.

"Dad!" I threw my book bag to the floor and ran to Edward's side. "Leave him alone. He didn't do anything wrong!"

I'd crossed my line. Defiance, when my father was like this, could often be a deadly error.

In one movement, quicker than most drunks could move, even quicker than my eyes could register, my father pushed Edward roughly aside, with such force that he flew to the opposite wall. After that, my memory consists only of feelings. First, a flat smack across my face, then hard knuckles on it. When it hit, there was no pain, but once the fist had passed, blood flowed to the area, my nerve endings sending a speedy message to my brain that said "scream, cry, this hurts!"

I would like to have said I didn't listen, and kept my footing like Edward, but I didn't. It was like I fell asleep and woke up on the floor. I was just all of a sudden…there. And then the tears came as I hugged myself into a ball on the kitchen tile. I had been stupid, and now I had the bruise to hide. But by God, I'd stood up for once, and for my brother.

Suddenly, Edward was there with me, picking me up off the floor and dragging me out the door.

I may have crossed dad's line, but he had crossed Edward's.

He uttered a few profane words and called my dad something I need not repeat, then led me to the truck and helped me into the seat. As he walked around to the driver's side, I curled my feet up in front of me and turned my back to the window.

The tears had stopped, but I could still feel the light wet trails on my cheeks as Edward got in and cranked the truck.

I woke up an hour later, heading west on the interstate. I was still curled up in the same position.

Edward seemed to have calmed down, though I could tell by his face that what had happened was still echoing through his mind. I could tell my questions would get short answers.

"Where are we, Edward?"

"The state line."

"What time is it?"

He glanced at his watch. "9:00."

For the first time, I noticed the veil of darkness outside.

"…Where are we going?"

"Texas."

I laid my head back on the seat.

"Do we have enough money?"

He was silent, then "a little."

I turned away from him, facing the window.

"I'll take care of you, El. I promise."

"Did we have to run away?"

"Yes." The quickest answer yet.

"Why?"

"Because he hurt you."

"He hurts you all the time."

"I'm different."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have to watch me get hurt."

We passed a sign that said 'New Mexico Desert, 100 miles.'

"We're going through the desert?"

He nodded. "It's quicker."

"So you promise where we're going will be better?"

"Yes."

That was good enough for me. My brother never broke a promise.


	3. Chapter 2 What Now?

Bobby, Doug, and I sat around the fire we had made out of some small sticks of wood we'd found and the burning remains of the camper. The sun had started setting no more than 20 minutes after Doug returned with Catherine, she was now asleep in his arms looking as peaceful as the always was when asleep. How I envied her, for I knew I would get no such sleep for a long time.

None of us had said much since Doug's return, let alone voiced the one fear that hung in the air around us like it was trying to suffocate us- what if there were more of those freaks out here?

"What now?" Bobby asked, breaking the long silence that had set in between the three of us. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Doug answered, he was still covered in blood, though it was hard to tell if it was mostly his own or not. "Whatever we decide, it'll have to wait until morning."

"We've got to get to somewhere with water soon." I said. "In two more days, we'll be dehydrated and dying."

I had just voiced the other fear that had us in its grasp – now that we were out of the deepest circle of hell, how were we supposed to get the rest of the way out?

"Brenda, don't talk like that?" Bobby said as reassuringly as he could. "We're gonna make it out."

I stood up and started to pace, it was amazing how clear my mind felt now that I was used to the fear that surrounded us in this God-forsaken damn desert.

"Our best bet is to head back to that damn store, then try and steal that asshole's car or something. Plus, even if we can't get his car, there was water and food back there." I mused.

Bobby nodded in agreement, but Doug just stared out into the darkness.

"Doug," Bobby said firmly. "We have to try. If Catherine doesn't get water or milk soon, she'll die quicker than we will."

"Aright…" He said, not looking at us. "First thing in the morning.

How weird that Bobby and I were more like adults than Doug was right now.

We decided to sleep in pairs while the remaining one kept watch, Doug took the first watch. I slowly, and not exactly peacefully, fell asleep. Bobby's first question rang in my mind.

What now?


	4. Chapter 3 Nodding

El's POV

We didn't stop all night, just kept going and going. I found it hard to fall back asleep as the hours crept by. We didn't talk, we didn't sleep, and we just went.

Under normal circumstances, he and I would have talked about anything and everything, being each other's best friends. But the magnitude of being on our own had seemed to set in. Though Edward looked a little unsure of himself from time to time, he seemed more determined to get away.

Sometime early in the morning, we crossed into the New Mexico Desert, and I noticed the gas needle on 'E.'

"Edward…" I said softly.

"I know, El. There's a gas station up ahead."

"Sorry."

"You didn't do anything. I'm just…tired."

"Do you want me to drive?"

"No. You haven't slept at all."

"Neither have you, silly." I smiled.

He looked at me, and for the first time since we'd left, he smiled back. Good, it made me feel better that he was out of his mood.

A minute later, we pulled into the gas station. Edward got out, and I did too, stretching my stiff legs for the first time in what felt like forever. It was extremely hot out of the air-conditioned cab of our silver truck, even my thin yellow tank top and jeans felt like too much.

I took the elastic band on my wrist off and pulled my dark brown curls up into a ponytail.

Edward entered the station, soon coming back our and shrugging.

"There's no one here."

"That's great." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, we need the gas…I'll just leave the money on the counter. Go see if you can grab some ice."

"For what?"

"Your eye." He said tensely.

I remembered and automatically reached up to touch it, wincing as it stung beneath my fingers.

"Don't do that." He said firmly.

I went into the store, slowly looking around, it smelled like…something. But I'd never smelled it before, so I hurried about finding the ice, also grabbing a plastic bag to put it in.

Pressing it tenderly to my eye, I came back outside, Edward was just finishing filling the tank.

He traded me a few twenties for the ice pack, and I saw that there was only one bill left, but he quickly shoved it back down into his pocket.

I didn't want to be in that creepy store longer than necessary, so I hurriedly threw the money on the counter and ran back out to the truck.

Edward laughed a bit at my apparent nervousness.

"In a hurry?" He asked.

"It's just…creepy. Can we go?"

He nodded, cranking the truck and riving away.

The bright sun was behind us.

I still hadn't slept, for some reason, sitting on my butt for long periods of time never had made me very tired.

Edward on the other hand, was nodding.

I kept offering to drive, but he said no, so finally, I resorted to talking to him, trying to keep him awake.

At last, what I had been afraid of happened.

"…Edward."

No response.

"Edward?"

I looked ahead, and saw the gigantic rock in our path a second too late.

"Edward!"

His head snapped up, but not soon enough. He slammed on the brakes, but we still hit the rock head on, too hard for comfort, and my head rolled forward on my neck, the seatbelt cutting into my stomach.

I don't think I screamed.

For a second, all was still, then I started breathing heavily again, Edward looked over at me.

"Oh my God, El! Are you okay?!"

I nodded. "I'm fine."

He hit the steering wheel. "Damnit!"

"Edward…:" I said, then looked out the windshield. "Edward, look."

There was a faint column of smoke rising in the sky ahead, only a few miles away.

He got out, then came around to meet me as I did the same. "Think there are people out there?" I asked.

"Hopefully, because I don't know anything about cars."

I looked at him. "Guess that's where I get it from."

He scowled playfully, then started walking. I followed, anxious about what lay ahead.

Then again, what could possibly happen in the middle of the desert?


	5. Chapter 4 Others

Brenda's POV

"Brenda, it's time to head out." Bobby's voice called me out of my light sleep.

"OK." I mumbled as I stood up. Any other time I would've protested and asked for more time to rest, but after the past few days, the sooner we got out of here, the better.

"How far do you think it is?" I asked as I stood.

"Well, it took about 10 or 15 minutes in the truck." Doug said. "So, maybe 10 miles. Could be more."

"We better get going if we want to make it before nightfall." I said.

We started walking back the way we had originally came, and we didn't stop until we saw two figures moving toward us. Bobby quickly pushed me behind him protectively.

"Bobby!" I hissed. "Did you even look at them?! They're walking normal! No hunching, limping, or lumbering! They're normal humans!"

"Look." Doug said, sounding amazed. "Bobby, she's right."

"I still don't think we should get our hopes up yet." He said as we continued to close the gap between the approaching strangers and us.

When we were within 500 feet of them, it was very easy to see that I had been right. There was a tall, rather mu8scular boy with dark hair that looked about y age, give or take a few months. The other was a girl with hair that matched the boy's only it was long and kindave wavy. She looked around Bobby's age maybe. Both had one black eye.

Finally, we stood in front of each other and just kind of stared for a moment. They looked as shocked as we were, but then again, it could be because Doug was covered in blood. And I'm sure we looked about half crazy at least. At last, the girl broke the silence.

"Um…hi." She said.

"Hi." I replied with Bobby, who was staring at her as if she was the only girl (other than me) in the world, which earned him a glance from the boy (who I was assuming was her older brother), and Doug didn't answer.

"How long have you been out here?" The boy asked.

"Three days." Doug answered this time. "What about you two?"

"For a few hours." That was him again, he was cute…really cute. "We wrecked our truck a few miles-"

"You have a truck?!" Doug, Bobby, and I asked hopefully.

"Yeah…" He said, a little uneasily. "What happened to you out here?"

"It's a long story, but we want to get out of here as soon as we can and if you're smart, you'll want to as well." Doug said, holding Catherine a little closer to him.

"Ok." The girl said, just as uneasily. "Let's head back."

"Thank you!" WE all said together and once again, we began a new leg in our journey, praying that this would be the last of it and we would finally be free of this awful place.

'Yeah…right.'


	6. Chapter 5 Strolling Along

Brenda's POV

After a few moments of silence, the boy turned and said, "I'm Edward, and this is my younger sister, Elaine."

"El." She corrected him.

Edward held his hand out for Doug to shake. After a quick handshake, Doug said, "My name is Doug, and this is my daughter, Catherine, and my brother and sister in law, Bobby and Brenda.

I tried my best to smile, but it just ended up turning the corner of my mouth up.

Bobby fell back a few steps to where…El was, while I stayed where I was in our little group.

"So…how did you guys wreck?" I asked Edward. Part of me was afraid of the answer and the other part just wanted to talk.

"I fell asleep at the wheel." He said in a mixture of guilt and embarrassment.

"Oh…" I said, a bit of relief escaping in my voice, which caused him to look down at me questioningly. "Um…we wrecked too."

"How?"

"Somehow, all four of our tires were punctured at the same time and Dad lost control of the car." I explained.

"Sounds like this desert is just bad luck." He said jokingly.

"You have no idea." I mumbled quietly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, gazing at me as if I was talking in riddles.

"Like Doug said, it's a long story…"

"We've got a long walk ahead of us." He pointed out.

I glanced at Catherine as she started to cry, and Doug tried to calm her.

"When we get somewhere safer, I'll explain."

Edward glanced back at his sister.

"How old are you?" I asked, looking for a new topic.

"17. And you?"

"Same."

"Where were you guys headed?"

"California, what about you two?"

"Texas."

We were silent for a while, and I couldn't help but wonder how both Edward and El had gotten black eyes. I quickly looked away from him when he glanced down at me though.

The sun rose higher in the sky as we continued to walk without really seeming to get anywhere. There was nothing but desert before us, and desert behind us.

El's POV

The boy named Bobby fell in step beside me. We were in the back of our strange little line, and I was suddenly wishing I'd slept more as I lagged behind everyone else. I was sweaty and sick of dirt, and we hadn't even been walking for an hour yet.

But I forgot all that when he came to my side. I'd never had the time or courage for a boyfriend, so boys hadn't been paid attention to much back home.

Now, not only was I left with no choice for conversation, but I would have wanted to talk to him if there were a million guys in front of me to choose from. He was cute, and I'd been immediately attracted to him the first time I'd seen him.

It felt strange though, what do you say to the cute guy walking next to you in the desert? 'Hi' didn't seem appropriate. I was wishing I had more experience when he solved the problem and spoke first.

"So…how old are you?"

"I'll be 17 in four days."

"Really?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

"June. I'll be 17 too."

I smiled at him. "What about…your sister?" I was ashamed to say I'd forgotten everyone's names but Bobby and Catherine already.

"Brenda?"

"Yeah, sorry. I forget things fast."

"You remembered my name."

I blushed, but didn't have to recover, because he did.

"She's 17."

"So is my brother." I said.

Edward kept glancing back at us, glaring at us, but not much. His attention usually turned back to Brenda before long.

"You two would probably get along." He said, following my line of vision.

"Why?" I asked, curious.

"I don't know, you just would."

We were silent for a minute, but he seemed to want to ask something. I glanced up; he was looking at me too. We both acted like we hadn't been quickly.

Finally, he spoke up again, hesitantly.

"What happened to your eye?"

"I don't want to talk about it." I said, crossing my arms and immediately feeling myself crawl back into my hole. But I wanted to stay with him…

But it was too late, and we walked on in silence, but he did stay beside me, and that was some small comfort.


	7. Chapter 6 The Death of Secrecy

El's POV

After waling for about two hours, we finally reached Edward and I'd truck. Doug, Bobby, and Brenda seemed extremely eager to get out of the desert, which I wasn't quite sure I understood. I mean, sure it was hot and dry and dusty…but what had they been through other than that?

What were they keeping from us?

Brenda and I both seemed equally tired, and I wanted so badly to sleep. I climbed into the back of the truck, Edward beside me. Brenda, Doug, and Bobby crowded into the front, Bobby behind the wheel. He turned the key just as I was laying my head over on Edward's shoulder.

Nothing.

He tried again, nothing.

"Shit." He cursed softly.

He jumped out again, slamming the door hard behind him and opening the hood.

Edward jumped back out and joined him, I followed, curious, but mostly wanting to see Bobby again.

"The battery cables have been snipped." Bobby said quietly.

"Wait, but…someone would have had to do that…" Edward said.

A drought of terror ran through me for a second, was it possible that the desert wasn't as deserted as we though?

Worse yet, was that a good or bad?

Bobby looked at Edward as though unsure of what to say, then closed the hood, looking anywhere but at us. I saw Brenda put her head in her hands. She seemed…distraught. There was no better word.

"I think we should just rest here for a while. Then, we can go back to that gas station and look for cables."

"Will you be able to put them in?" Edward asked, as though bobby were some small child or something who couldn't possibly have any idea what hew as doing. It made me angry for a second and I shot him a look. After all, Bobby and I were the same age.

"Yeah…" Bobby said absentmindedly, looking all around the surrounding landscape, as though he felt someone was watching.

Brenda climbed out of the cab, dragging Doug with her. "The sun is shining right in there, if we sleep on the other side, at least there'll be some shade."

Bobby nodded. Edward was still staring at him, waiting for an explanation I wasn't sure Bobby was ready to give.

Bobby's POV

The girls had just fallen asleep, Brenda beside me and El on her brother's shoulder. I caught myself staring at her again, but it was so hard not to. There were lots of girls back home in Florida, but none as pretty as her. And none so…mature. She seemed different, like she'd lived longer than she claimed.

After everything that had happened, I felt the same way.

She looked peaceful as she slept, her wavy hair blowing in the light wind that was thankfully passing through. It took me a second to realize that I was smiling.

Suddenly, her brother shot me a death glare, and I unwillingly forced my eyes away. I had been thinking, and it was time to tell them about the people, the freaks living in these hills.

I turned back, willing myself to look at Edward, and not El.

"Edward…can Doug and I talk to you?"

He looked suspicious, but carefully stood, laying El's head back against the truck gently. I got up, careful not to disturb my own sleeping sister, ad followed him around to the other side of the truck, Doug coming slowly.

El's POV

I was sleeping fitfully, but now, a touch startled me out of my slumber. Someone…or something, was lightly rubbing my face all over, my hair too. For one second, part of my heart hoped it was Bobby, but I quickly realized that it couldn't be.

I opened my eyes…and let out a scream of terror.

Bending over me, was a figure in a dark and tattered jacket. I could scarcely see his face for the hood that covered his head. But the short glance I got let me see that he was horribly deformed. And form the way he was holding me down…horribly strong.

Bobby's POV

I had just opened my mouth to start _trying_ to explain when a shrill scream filled my ears.

I cursed aloud. How could I have been so stupid?! I should have known the minute we left them that they'd come. What scared me most now was finding out who had screamed.

I pulled the gun from my belt and sprinted back around the truck. One of those…things…was bent low over El…touching her.

I took aim…and shot.

El's POV

A gunshot rang through the air, and the creature over me fell to the side, bleeding form somewhere in his hood.

Breathing fast and scared out of my mind, I scrambled to my feet and ran to Edward, who stood in shock. He wrapped his arms protectively around me as Bobby went to check on Brenda, who was breathing as hard as I was just a few feet away.

Bobby put his arm around her shoulders as she closed her eyes, as though trying to repress some horrible memory.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Edward screamed, hugging me closer.

"There's a lot you don't know…" Bobby sighed.

"Well, obviously!"

"Just let us explain." Brenda said. "It's a long story."


	8. Chapter 7 Almost Safe

Brenda's POV

"Ok…" I said after we had all sat down in a circle. Edward was on my right with El on his other side, though she seemed closer to Bobby than him, and Doug with Catherine in his lap was on my other side.

It seemed that by default, I had to explain what had happened to us because Doug was only concerned with Catherine, so that all but made him useless, and Bobby too concerned with El, he (like Edward) seemed to feel guilty for what had happened.

"We came here from Florida, driving cross-country for our parents 25 wedding anniversary. Doug and our sister came along with Catherine too. We were headed to California for vacation, but dad wanted to see the desert. So we started through New Mexico and stopped at that God-forsaken gas station. The old man running it told us about this so-called "shortcut."

"A couple miles down this road, all four tires on our S.U.V. were slashed at the same time and dad lost control. We crashed into a rock, totaling the car." I paused a few moments before going on. "After that, Doug and Dad set out in different directions, walking. Doug went on down the road and found that it was a dead end, while Dad went back to the gas station. He didn't make it back.

"That afternoon, one of our dogs got out and Bobby went after her. He didn't come back either. So, shortly after sunset, I went out and found him half conscious and with a bad cut on his head. Doug showed up again after about 15 minutes with this stuff he'd found in a crater where the road ended.

"During the night, two of those…freaks came to our camp and attacked. First, they set dad on fire, we found him outside tied to a tree. One of them killed our sister, Lynn, and shot our mom, she dies shortly after." I think Edward and El noticed that I'd left something out of that part of my story, and Doug was silently shedding a few tears. "When they left hey took Catherine with them. The next morning, Doug took our other dog, Beast, and went out in search of his daughter, while Bobby and I stayed behind and started laying a trap at camp.

"In the end, Doug killed three and rescued Catherine and together, Bobby and I killed one. We all think Beast killed two." After that, I fell silent.

Many minutes passed with silence, then Edward asked, "So, there are more of those freaks out there? They can come back at any time?"

"Yes…" I said quietly.

"I understand why you wanted to get out of here so quickly." Edward said, though it seemed like he was only talking to me.

Bobby stood up. "We better getting again or we won't make it to the gas station before night fall." He held out his hand to help El to her feet, ignoring the glare from Edward as she took his hand.

Despite glaring at Bobby for doing the same thing, after getting to his feet, Edward held his hand out to me. I took it with a slight smile.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"No problem." He replied, till holding my hand. A moment later, he reluctantly let go.

Once again, we started walking, only this time, a shadow seemed to have fallen over us.

We arrived at the gas station around 7:30. The sun was already halfway set and the first few stars were starting to shine out. First thing, we all went into the store and each got a bottle of water. It had been nearly a day since Bobby, Doug, and I had had something to drink, probably two for Catherine, and just over two days since we had had anything to eat.

After that, we grabbed a few more bottles and then spread out and went around the store looking for food or anything else that might be useful.

Doug got some milk for Catherine, while Bobby and El got a few bags of ships, which seemed to be the only thing any of us were willing to eat, I took a pack of matches, knowing it would be better if we had a fire tonight, and Edward walked up to the counter where the register was.

"Hey, El. The money we left is still here." He said, picking up a couple of bills and sticking them in his pocket.

"Doesn't surprise me." She said.

I grabbed a few boxed of things to help get the fire going, then looked around. There didn't seem to be anything else we needed, Doug was already outside feeding Catherine with a water bottle he had tilled with milk. The rest of us headed outside shortly after that.

I walked over to where Edward was sitting and sat down next to him. I wasn't exactly sure why, but I real liked being near him. It was really nice to have someone my age around, I mean, sure Bobby was a great brother, but I didn't want to talk to him all the time.

"Hi." I said, after a moment of two.

"Hi." He replied, smiling at me a bit, though he looked about as happy as I was, which was not much at all.

"You hate my brother, don't you?" I asked.

"Not exactly, 'hate.'" Edward corrected. "I've just always been a bit overprotective of El, or at least, for as long as I can remember."

"Bobby's become more protective here lately."

"I can understand that after what happened to you guys."

I nodded. We sat in silence for a few minutes the fire crackling and popping, the only voice around us. Then Edward spoke softly.

"When you were explaining to us what happened earlier, you didn't tell us everything, did you?"

"No…" I admitted. When I spoke, it was like I was talking to the surrounding darkness rather than him. "They tried to rape me…but Catherine started crying and then Lynn came back…and mom showed up a few seconds later. I had to watch him shoot mom, then Lynn…" I fell silent, the words stuck in my throat while two tears rolled down my cheeks. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. I had promised myself I was going to be stronger than this.

Then, I felt Edward wipe away my tears. I opened my eyes and looked at him a moment, he took my hand and held it tight.

"Don't worry, Brenda. Tomorrow, we'll get the battery cables and go back to the truck, then we'll leave this place."

I nodded, moving a little closer to him. It just felt right, even if this place being near him made me feel a little safer.

I looked up at Edward, noticing for the first time that his eyes were a clear gray, they shone beautifully in the firelight. I looked away again, feeling awkward. He was still holding my hand.

"Still wondering where me and El got the black eyes?" He asked, looking out into the night the way I had.

"Yes." I answered quietly.

"Our father." He said. "He's an alcoholic, he has always done things like this to me and I vowed that if he ever hurt El, I'd get her out of there. It finally happened, so we got in the truck and left. We were headed to Texas, because our mom's sister lives somewhere near Dallas."

"Edward-"

"Don't worry." He said, cutting my off. He smiled a bit. "That part of mine and El's life is over and we're never going back."

At that moment, I knew I would never find anyone who I was more open with. I hadn't even talked to Bobby about what had almost happened to me and by the tone of Edward's voice, he had never told anyone about he and El's father.

Shortly after that, Bobby and El came and sat on the other side of the fire and Doug offered to take the first watch. Soon, we were all asleep (except Doug), and for once in the last four days, I almost felt completely safe next to Edward.

Almost.


	9. Chapter 8 Perfection

El's POV

We came back outside into the fresh air. The sun had now completely set, and though I was thankful for the decrease in temperature, my knowledge of desert climate told me that it would be below freezing before long.

Damn desert.

Damn freaks.

I could still feel his fingers on my face, and an involuntary shudder ran down my spine.

Brenda ripped the boxed she'd brought out into pieces, then lit a match, holding it to he boxes. After a lot of fanning, the fire finally burst to life, the few, but warm flames licking the air.

Brenda walked to Edward's side and I turned away, happy that they seemed to like each other so much. Bobby stood a few yards away, his back to me, arms crossed in front of him.

I couldn't help it, something drew me to him, it was like I started walking even before my brain told me to.

Soon, I was at his side.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." He answered, not looking at me.

I looked down at my feet. "Something wrong?" I asked awkwardly.

"No…I just…" He didn't go on for a second, but then, it was like this floodgate opened, and he realized that I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know. "I feel like a lot of this is my fault. I knew better, and I still left you guys by yourselves. It was stupid."

He looked down, letting out a heavy breath. Now I felt bad, but butterflies flew about in my stomach at the thought of him worrying about me…or maybe just Brenda. I couldn't tell.

"Oh, Bobby, it's not your fault…" I said softly, sincerely.

He sucked in a breath, and I suddenly realized how sensitive he was. How much whatever he'd been through had made him feel helpless and cornered. I felt sorry for him…and I wanted to be here for him.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" I asked after a few moments of silence. "It would have been a lot off your chest…"

"I didn't wanna scare you…" He said softly, looking at me for the first time. Even in the darkness, I could see the deep brown of his eyes.

It surprised me how I could ever bother with such things in this situation.

I shivered suddenly, the night air finally beginning to take affect.

"You're cold." He said, as though he were dumb not to know. "Here, let's go back to the fire…"

He turned, placing a hand on my arm. As we got closer, I saw Brenda and Edward sitting on one side of the fire, and looked up to see if Bobby had noticed.

His eyes flashed a little, and he tensed, but didn't glare. Apparently, he wasn't as bad as Edward was, but still pretty protective of Brenda. After the past few days, probably even more than before.

I looked up at him (he was about a head taller than I was), then spoke. "Don't worry, my brother's a nice guy, Bobby."

He looked doubtful, but still stayed on this side of the fire.

I looked up at him. "Can I stay with you? I don't think I'm wanted over there." I bit my lip nervously, hoping this wasn't going too far.

"Um…yeah." He said. He sat down, and I sat down next to him, pulling my knees to my chest.

After a while, I caught him looking at my eye again. I sighed and laid back, looking up at the stars. "…my dad."

He laid down as well, looking at me curiously. "What?"

"My dad…he gave me the black eye. Edward too." A tear rolled down my cheek, and my voice broke. "That's why we're out here…" I covered my eyes as I began to cry. "We had to fun away…"

For a minute, I just cried, until I felt a hand lightly brush my shoulder. I opened my eyes, and Bobby was looking at me sympathetically. I felt weak, at least my parents were alive. But as he reached out to me, I wanted to just…cry. Let out all the pain I'd felt for so long. I'd never cried in front of anyone, but with him, I wanted to let it out…and I didn't feel bad about it.

I turned over on my side, my back to him, and he scooted closer, his arm wrapping around me and pulling me close.

Back home, this would have been too fast, too much, and he would have been someone I barely knew. But here, after I told him something I'd never told anyone else, her in a place where I suddenly realized that I didn't know that I'd make it to the next morning, this was perfect.


	10. Chapter 9 Darkness

Brenda's POV

It was around 4:00AM when Edward woke me for the final watch. I yawned a bit, then stood up and stretched. As he lay down to get a few more hours of sleep, I put a few more small sticks and couple of boxes on the fire to keep it going, then walked out to then edge of its light to stand guard.

As the time neared six, the sky started to lighten up. The stars didn't show as brightly and a thin red line on the horizon marked the very beginning of the sunrise. I looked around, no movement out in the pale darkness.

Just then, a hand covered my mouth and wrapped an arm around my waist also pinning my arm to my side as it jerked me to my feet. Not being able to scream, I started kicking my attacker, trying to stay as calm as I could so that my mind wouldn't be clouded by panic.

Another freak appeared in front of me. It looked female, given the long matted hair and sharp-featured face. It looked as though parts of her skin had rotted away all over her face, arms, and legs.

"Scorpion, I can't hold her much longer!" The one holding me whispered, it too sounded female.

"Tumor, you dumbass, just knock her out." Scorpion replied roughly.

"What with?" She asked, trying to keep my mouth covered as I jerked my head back and forth.

I tried to make any kind of noise I could to wake the others, but it was no use, my feet were barely touching the ground as it was.

"I'll do it." Scorpion said almost joyfully.

The next thing I knew, something hard made contact with the side of my head. A few moments later, I fell into the darkness.


	11. Chapter 10 The Horror of Realization

El's POV

My eyes snapped open suddenly. The gray phase of morning's light was just ending. Bobby's arm was still around me, and I could feel his nose on the back of my head, his steady breathing a comforting feeling.

Nevertheless, something was wrong.

I carefully took Bobby's arm off of me, smiling down at his sleeping figure momentarily. I sat up, staring over the now burning embers of our fire. Edward and Doug (with Catherine in his arms) lay on the other side…alone.

Where was Brenda?

I got to my feet, looking around cautiously. The silence was unnerving, that, and Brenda's absence.

Panicking slightly, I ran up the stairs to the store, stepping in.

"Brenda?" I called, walking swiftly through all the rooms, noticing that the smell got worse in the back. Nothing.

I came back out into the morning light, and saw it.

There on the ground in front of me was a small patch of blood. Small, yet so devastating. I ran back to where Bobby slept and fell to my knees, shaking him.

"Bobby! Bobby!"

He sat up immediately, his hand on the gun in his belt. "What?! What's wrong?!"

"It's Brenda, Bobby. She's gone."

Edward's POV

I was awake when El shouted, and everything else she said hit me like a blow to the face. And I knew what that felt like, this was worse. I got to my feet immediately.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." El answered, but her eyes were on Bobby. For the first time though, I was worried about someone other than her.

El's POV

Bobby began breathing hard as he shot to his feet. He ran into the store, shouting Brenda's name relentlessly.

I followed, his visible pain worrying me, scaring me. Edward just stood at the fire, looking shell-shocked and lifeless as he stared at the coals.

When I got to the store entrance, I stopped, feeling like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time as Bobby seemed to fall apart right before my eyes.

He was tearing everything he could reach to pieces, the store already in shambles. He cursed loudly, and I almost wanted to cry, seeing someone I almost considered the strongest person I'd ever met (other than Edward) become so out-or-control.

"Bobby!" I yelled, running to him. "Bobby, stop!"

He swept about a dozen cans off a shelf before I reached him.

Without thinking, I put my arms on his back, which heaved in and out, so different from his steady breathing before. "Bobby, calm down." I said softly.

He breathed deeply, then leaned down on the shelf in front of him, sucking in a breath. His back shook a little.

I put my cheek down on it, hugging him gently from behind. "It's OK. We'll find her."

Suddenly, Edward's voice washed over me from the doorway. "What are we going to do?"

Bobby straightened up, and I looked away, figuring he didn't need any glares right now.

But Edward seemed too out-or-it to care.

Was he that worried?

Bobby sighed. "I don't know."

"Well, we can't do nothing!" Edward yelled.

"What do you care?! They didn't take your sister1"

I looked down guiltily.

"I care about Brenda too, Carter!"

I looked up at Bobby, who looked livid, but not surprised. It seemed that there was nothing anyone could say, and the tension in the room was thick enough for a knife.

No one wanted to admit that there was nothing we could do.


	12. Chapter 11 Voices

Brenda's POV

When I awoke, at first I couldn't tell if I'd even opened my eyes, but then, they adjusted to the dim light. I lay on a straw mattress and my left leg was fettered to what appeared to be a railroad spike. The only space between it and the stone floor was for the chain that held my leg. The room or cavern was carved out of stone and the air around me was cold, yet suffocating at the same time. And my head was tender, when I placed a hand to the spot where Scorpion had hit me, I felt blood.

"Damnit." I mumbled. "I'm in the mine."

Then I heard low voices talking, they didn't seem that far away though.

"You're sue she is their alpha-female?" A female voice asked.

"Yes." That was the one who had grabbed me. What had Scorpion called her? Tumor? Yes, that was it. "She was standing guard and she's the oldest looking female."

"Very well." The first voice said. "How many are left?"

"One female, three males, and one female baby." She answered.

"Good. Their clan will be falling aart soon. Bring the baby and her caretaker next. And don't take Scorpion this time. We're lucky the girl is even alive with the gash she put in her head."

"Yes, ma'am."

After that, slow footsteps moved farther away, then silence. Catherine. They were going after Catherine and Doug now. Fantastic. Just fan-freaking-tastic.


	13. Chapter 12 The Second

El's POV

The rest of that day was hard on everyone's nerves. Edward paced a lot in circles, running his hand through his hair over and over. I t would have been funny if the situation were different, but it touched me that he seemed so concerned.

He and I were both very serious about our feelings. We didn't say things we didn't mean, and we expected the same from others. Although I wasn't sure I could take it if Bobby told me he didn't feel the same about me as I was starting to feel about him.

He just sat all day, his head in his ands. I felt awful about it…because I honestly didn't know what to do.

But if I had, I would have done it.

Although it seemed like something had to happen, the sun set again upon a full day of…nothing. Which for once in this desert wasn't good.

At first, I didn't think Bobby and Edward would fall asleep, but they did, no matter how unwillingly, and I took full watch.

I wanted to go all night, so the others could sleep, but around 2:00AM (according to my wristwatch), I got tired and woke Doug up. I was hardly down on the ground next to Bobby before I fell asleep.

Bobby's POV

The first thing I realized when I woke up was that I hadn't taken a watch the night before. El was on the ground next o me, and I gently brushed a piece of hair off of her cheek. She didn't move, and I wondered how long she'd stayed awake the night before. I admired her, though she made me feel weak at times. And I had wanted more than anything to keep she and Brenda safe.

Some job I was doing.

I looked over the burning coals to see Edward on the other side. I felt like a kindergarten teacher doing head count.

Catherine and Doug weren't there.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I gritted my teeth so I wouldn't yell. If I ever got hold of those…

I put my head in my hands, then scooted closer to El, putting an arm around her like the night before. It felt like all we could do was wait for them to pick us off one by one, I guess because that was true.

I held El close to me, and she sighed in her sleep, I hoped happily. This was the only time I had felt close to happy since we'd entered the desert.

It took me a second to realize that I was beyond fear now, fear of them.

My biggest fear was what had happened to Brenda, and if El would be next.

Edward's POV

When my eyes opened, I thought Brenda was next to me for a second, but when I turned over, I remembered she wasn't there. I sat up, and Bobby did the same on the other side of the fire. I vaguely noticed him take an arm from around my sister.

"Doug and Catherine are gone." He said in a tired, almost monotone voice.

I sighed. I didn't know what to say. I felt like I should be the adult here, but I was coming to terms with my young age more quickly every day.

I looked over at El, who was sleeping peacefully, or at least, it looked that way. If she was having the same dreams I had had, it wasn't at all pleasant.

A few minutes later, she stirred, and her eyes opened wide, then she sat up, realizing she was the last to wake up. Bobby looked down at her, the same look in his eyes that I knew was in mine when I looked at Brenda.

I heard him softly explain what had happened, and she looked exactly like me as she sighed, looking at him worriedly.

He took her hand in his and looked at me questioningly, almost challenging me. But I let him do it, I had to…

If I was going to expect him to let me do the same to his sister.

Because when I found her, that was the first thing I planned on doing.


	14. Chapter 13 The Second cont

Brenda's POV

I was pacing now, standing still or sitting just seemed liked giving in to my fate. Another night had passed I guessed it was hard to tell without a watch or sunlight, but I had slept even if it was only a little.

That's when two of hem pushed Doug into the room like area where I was. He had Catherine in his arms and didn't seem to be fighting them. One of the freaks had to be Tumor and it was easy to see where she got her name. A large growth was on the side of her head that covered her right eye and most of her forehead as well. The other was and walking strangely. Something had to e wrong with her feet.

Tumor pushed Doug toward the opposite wall from where I was chained.

"Sit." She ordered him, as if it was as normal as breathing to order him to do something. Doug did so, holding Catherine close as she began to cry. "Hands." He held them out as Catherine clung to his neck. Tumor placed chains on each of his wrists, ten left with the other freak. From what I could tell, the chains around Doug's wrists were also attached to the floor by a railroad spike.

"Brenda, is that you?" Doug asked, given the dim light and his broken glasses, I was guessing he could only just see a vague outline of me.

"Yes. I'm all right." I replied with a sigh as I sat down.

"Good."

"Doug? Why didn't you fight to get away?" I asked after a few moments.

"I didn't want them to hurt Catherine." He simply said, after that, he didn't talk anymore.

Poor Doug, Catherine was all he had left. His sanity had escaped him only a few days ago.

Now, the only thing to do was wait and see who they would bring next.


	15. Chapter 14 The Last of Six

El's POV

That morning, needless to say, felt like it passed even slower than the day before. Noon, then 1:00, then 2:00, then, my watch busted in the heat.

Speaking of that, it as stifling, even in the shade of the overhang on the store. It made me drowsy, and I found myself nodding off every few minutes.

Both Edward and Bobby seemed to be keeping watchful eyes on me, as if it was only possible that I was next.

I had just came back from one of my dozing spells when a distant snarl came from somewhere in the few dead bushes on the other side of the car. NO…from the distant shed.

Bobby gripped my hand, pulling me to my feet, not taking his blazing eyes from the shed.

"Stay here."

"Bullshit." I said angrily, tired of them treating me like the helpless victim. As far as I knew, I hadn't been kidnapped yet.

He looked at me in shock, and then moved forward. I stubbornly followed. He turned around furiously taking my shoulder in his hands.

"I'm serious, El. Go back! Stay with Edward!"

"No!" I took his hands off m shoulders, keeping one tightly in my own, looking at him as defiantly as I could.

Edward stayed back, having a jealousy spell, I imagined…

Bobby sighed in exasperation, but nevertheless, pulled me cautiously along as we neared the shed. "You drive me crazy…" He muttered.

"Likewise." I murmured din return.

He shot me a glance, and then turned the corner into the shed, pointing the gun ominously. He made me feel safe…protected, no matter what was around the corner.

Edward's POV

I watched them go, snorting angrily. Even if I liked Brenda, it was hard to let someone touch my sister, she was-

All I could think was how much my head hurt all of a sudden…

Then it was black.

El's POV

"Nothing." Bobby sighed, backing out of the shed, and then turning toward me. He looked relieved for a moment…but then, his eyes caught over my head, behind me, and he looked horrified.

I turned.

My brother was gone.

I left Bobby behind, running faster than I ever knew I could back to where he'd been standing only moments before.

Bobby was on my heels, shouting my name, but I didn't slow down and he didn't catch me.

Skidding to a halt, I began breathing hard in his now vacant spot. "Edward!" I creamed. "Edward!"

Tears poured down my cheeks and I sobbed, screaming his name over and over. I was just beginning to pull my hair out when Bobby trapped me in his embrace, shushing me gently, stroking my hair.

All I could keep thinking was that I'd left Edward behind and I knew how Bobby had felt the day before…like this…like nothing.

Nevertheless, I started to calm down, began breathing again, and he still held me. I still clung to him.

We were all that was left.

Two out of six.


	16. Chapter 15 The Fourth Hostage

Brenda's POV

I was sleeping the next time I heard footsteps again. As my vision cleared, I saw that Tumor had went again, and with her, Scorpion, who was grinning evilly as she and Tumor carried in Edward.

"Oh, no…" I whispered as I stood up and tried to see if he was hurt, though it was difficult in the dim light. The only thing I could tell was that he was unconscious. My heart seemed to stop as Tumor chained his wrist as she had Doug's.

I moved as close to Edward as I could, which wasn't very. Only feet separated us, but it felt like miles to me. Once Scorpion and Tumor had gone, I let a few tars fall down my cheek.

"Doug…is he hurt?" I asked.

Doug moved closer to Edward's unmoving form. "He's got a small gash in his head, but that's it."

"All right." I said with a sigh of relief.

Now, the only thing to do was to wait until he awoke, which I prayed would be soon.

Edward's POV

As I started to wake up, the first thing I notices was the pain in my head. I clinked a few times to clear my vision, and for my eyes to adjust to the small amount of light. I then realized that a chain was now binding my wrist, and finally, I saw Brenda pacing on the other side of the cavern.

"Brenda?" I asked, making sure my throbbing head wasn't playing tricks on me as I sat up.

"Edward!" She said, turning quickly and coming as far as the chain around her ankle would let her. "Are you okay? What happened? Are Bobby and El still out there?" She asked quickly, the concern clear in her voice.

I couldn't help but smile, it was so great knowing she was all right. "I'm fine. They came up behind me and knocked me out. Yes, El and your brother are still out there. What about you? Are you all right?"

"As well as I can be." Brenda replied, she was starting to calm down. "Do you know how long I've been gone? I've lost all track of time down here."

"Two days, maybe three now though. How long was I out for?"

"A few hours probably.

"This is awful for me to say, but I'm really glad to see you."

"Don't worry, I feel the same."

I couldn't really be sure, but I thought I saw her smile.


	17. Chapter 16 Early Birthday

El's POV

Bobby and I spent the remainder of the day together, never leaving each other's sight. We had been making stupid mistakes, but no more. Something had to happen eventually, and we preferred it to not be getting kidnapped.

Night came, still nothing.

We restarted the fire, then laid back, looking at the stars like we had the firs tonight, although this time, it seemed there was nothing to talk about. Nothing normal, anyway.

I wracked my brain for a question, but it was only full of worry, mostly for Edward, but for Brenda, Doug, and Catherine too.

But Bobby seemed to have a way of solving these problems for me.

"El?"

"Hmmm?"

"Have you ever had a boyfriend?"

I looked at him incredulously. "What kind of question is that?"

"To get your mind off things, just answer."

"Have you met my brother?"

He laughed, but didn't look satisfied by my answer. Get my mind off things, my ass. He really wanted to know. I was glad it was dark, because I was blushing.

"No." I answered, sighing, though not heavily.

He looked confused. "You haven't?"

"Nope." I smiled. "Surprised?"

He nodded, keeping his eyes on me. "Yeah."

I blushed again, but he spoke. "I want to know why. I mean, are the boys where you live stupid or something?"

I laughed aloud. "I didn't say I'd never been asked. I just never really wanted a boyfriend before."

"Before what?"

I stared at him, thinking hard about whether or not to say what I wanted to.

'Ah, to hell with it.' I thought. 'We may not make it out of this freakin' desert anyway.'

"Before now."

He looked confused again, or maybe he just wanted to hear it loud.

I sighed. "Before I met you."

He beamed happily, then looked back up at the stars. "I like you too."

I smiled up at the stars as well, and for a minute, I was ashamed for being so happy when I didn't know what had happened to my brother or my friends.

"It's past midnight." He said out of nowhere.

"So?"

"Do you know what day it is?"

"Should I?"

"The 28."

He was silent. "…and?" I asked.

"Mind if I give you your present early?"

'OK…' I thought. If I hadn't been confused before, I definitely was then. "What are you-?"

He rolled onto his side and kissed me softly, lingering just long enough to mean something and just short enough for our pace. He pulled away, smiling crookedly at me.

He lay back down and I shifted closer, laying my head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around me protectively, brushing my bangs out of my eye lightly.

"Go to sleep." He said softly.

I yawned, all of a sudden tired, but still frightened of what could be hiding in the darkness.

"I'll stay awake." He said.

He was a mind reader.

And then, my eyes fell closed, into a dreamless sleep.


	18. Chapter 17 One Left

Bobby's POV

I woke up as El was viciously jerked from my arms.

She screamed, kicking her attacker relentlessly.

Jumping to my feet, I reached for the gun, but someone grabbed me from behind, wrapping a fleshy arm around my neck

"Bobby!" El screamed, but my vision was going dark, I couldn't breathe. "Let him go!" She screamed helplessly, begging. "Please!"

She cried out in pain and then, was silent. I gritted my teeth in anger, but couldn't see through my watering eyes if she was OK.

Finally, when I thought that I wasn't going to live to save El, or Brenda, or anyone, my attacker shoved me to the ground. I coughed and gagged in the sand, but got to my feet as soon as I could.

Which was too late.

I was alone.

Brenda's POV

Hours passed, though I wasn't sure how many, and the freaks finally brought El in. She was unconscious and (for once) they chained he next to me by her left ankle. Tumor and the little one that couldn't walk well were the ones who did it, so I wasn't surprised when I checked the gash in El's head that it was smaller than mine.

Edward, of course, was freaking. I had to tell him at least ten times that she was fine and that her breathing was normal before he would calm down. I heard him mumbling curses under his breath, whether they were aimed at the freaks or himself, I couldn't tell.

She started to wake up after a few hours. Edward came as close as his short chains would let him. El blinked a few times to clear her vision.

"Where's Bobby?" She asked quietly after seeing me.

"Not here yet." I told her, knowing it was only a matter of time.

She nodded. "And Edward?"

"I'm here." He said. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah." El replied, but her mind seemed to be somewhere else. I knew she could only be thinking of one person.

Bobby's POV

'Shit!' I thought for what had to be the millionth time. 'I shut my eyes for one second, and she's gone! How could I be so stupid?! Damn it!'

I started pacing, it would only be a matter of time before they came back for me. I'd already decided I wouldn't fight them. How else was I gonna get to El and the others?

Damn freaks! What had we done to them? Nothing! 'I hope El is OK…and Brenda too. The one thing I tried to do, keep them safe, and I failed not once, but twice! Some brother I am…'

Why was I last? Was there any reason behind the order they had taken us in? Not that I could see…

The sun had set about an hour ago, I'd finally quit pacing, and now just sat and waited.

'What if they don't come for me? What if El is already – no, I can't think that! She's fine and so are Brenda, and Doug and Catherine, and even Edward…'

I could've sworn that I heard soft footsteps…damn them. I remained still and unmoving until I felt it. A sharp pain in my head and then…nothing.

'Damn, my head!' I thought as my mind cleared and my eyes opened.

"Bobby?!" Was that El? Where was she?

"He's waking up." That was Edward, trying to calm her down.

"Good." Brenda.

"Is he OK?" El again.

"I'm all right." I said, sitting up. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere in the mines." Brenda replied.

I finally saw her and El on the other side of the cavern and Doug and Edward on either side of me, chained as I was.

"Are you OK?" I asked, looking at El.

"Yeah." She said.

I leaned back against the cold stone walls, now that we were all here, what would happen next?


	19. Chapter 18 The Plan

El's POV

I seemed as though this strange clan had waited to get us all together to put their actual plan into effect. It wasn't a complex plan, on the basic level; it seemed to be 'cause pain.'

When they were there, they kicked and hit us a lot, though it was nothing compared to what they did to the boys.

Except for Scorpion, who seemed to have little reverence for the "women are better" rule the clan revolved around. She hit us as often as she got the chance.

I hated her more than any of them.

Except for the leader, Venus, who took particular pleasure in beating Edward, Bobby, and Doug until they were within an inch of their lives. Brenda and I spent a lot of time screaming in protest, but it did little good, and only brought us more pain when our turn came around. I was pretty sure my nose was broken, and my right eye now matched my left.

Each day, I hated her more, wanted more strongly to get away.

Eventually, I noticed the pile of railroad spikes.


	20. Chapter 19 Hope in a Red Sweatshirt

Brenda's POV

A time after our last beating, a new face appeared in our cavern. A young girl in Bobby's red sweatshirt – the one Doug had told us saved Catherine.

She walked silently over to Doug and handed him a set of keys. Hope! She smiled as he took them. Doug then handed her Catherine as we all watched in silence.

"There's a truck in the desert, do you know where it is?" Doug asked her, and she nodded.

"Take her there and wait for us to come." Again, se nodded, and then quickly ran off.

"What did he just do?" El asked me.

"Made sure that his daughter would be safe." I replied.

"We've got to wait for the right time to go." I heard Bobby say.

"They'll go looking for Catherine soon." Edward said.

"That's when we'll go, then." Bobby replied.

Third Person with the Freaks

"We've lost the baby?!" Venus shouted. "How could we lose it?! It can't even walk well yet! Who was supposed to be on guard?!"

"We didn't think they needed it, they're chained." Mars said, rubbing her deformed arm.

"I don't care what you thought! Just take Dragonfly and go get her back!" Venus ordered. "Scorpion, you're on guard now."

Without a word, Scorpion left smiling evilly to herself. This would be fun.

"Dragonfly's feet are too slow! I'll never find it!" Mars complained.

"Then take Tumor too! Just get the baby back!"

"C'mon." Mars grabbed Dragonfly by her upper arm and dragged her toward the surface.


	21. Chapter 20 The Other Plan

El's POV

The next day, although it felt like it had been months ago since Edward and I had run away, Scorpion was left alone at the cavern to keep an eye on us. This was never a good sign.

She seemed to enjoy causing pain, though at the same time, she was the most competent (other than Venus) of all of them.

She came at me first, and Bobby and Edward both struggled against their chains, as usual, although now, I could no longer distinguish who seemed angrier. The same thing always happened when they went after Brenda.

During a long period where no mutants were throttling us, she and I had talked. Bobby had been right; she and I did get along. And I felt like even if our less-than-delightful situation hadn't bound us in friendship, and we'd met under normal circumstances, we still would have been friends. We had tried to decide what the purpose was behind the abuse, if that was all they wanted to do, all they planned on doing. What was their logic? In the end, we decided they didn't have any.

Scorpion kicked me in the ribs and I coughed, gasping for air, she then kicked me right in the face, my already broken nose making an extremely unpleasant crunching noise. By this time, I was sure I had more than a few ribs broken too, it stung each time my chest expanded to breathe. A few more slaps and punches and she moved on to Brenda.

As that began again, I sat up, scowling at her from behind.

I called up the memory of the day they'd taken Edward, when I'd thought to myself that I wasn't the helpless victim, why was I letting myself be that now?

Quick as a flash, I stood and shoved Scorpion with all my might. She wouldn't have gone so far if she'd expected it, but since it had been a surprise, she flew all the way to the opposite wall, leaving Brenda with only a bleeding lip this time around.

My heart beat faster in triumph…until Scorpion turned back around, giving me a menacing look I remember to this day.

If she got hold of me this time…she would kill me.

Scorpion began making her way back across the room, and I frantically looked around for something…anything, the railroad spikes.

They were around two feet from where I knew I could reach, evenly between the boys and us.

I went for them, but Scorpion got to me first, shoving me all the way until the chain caught and I fell to the floor.

Edward and Bobby were pulling against their own chains harder than ever.

I turned over and kicked Scorpion with my fee leg, as hard as I could. I needed more time…

I turned back over onto my stomach, reaching so hard every muscle in my hand and arm burned with the effort. I couldn't quite get it…

Suddenly, there was a grunt and Scorpion's foot came down on the back of my knee. I screamed in pain, tears coming out of my eyes. She twisted her foot and I reached harder, if I didn't hurry, she would break my knee.

My fingers grazed the edge of the spike, and I screamed again as Scorpion twisted her foot the other way.

A foot came out of nowhere, and kicked the spike just within my reach.

Thank God for Bobby…

I wrapped my fingers around it just as Scorpion leaned down over me, finally taking her foot from the back of my knee. She was right in my face…

And I closed my eyes, jabbing the railroad spike into her face somewhere.

When I opened them, the spike was protruding from her right eye, blood spattering all over me. At last, she stopped moving, and fell down on me.

I began panting hard, and then rolled her off of me, sobbing, half because of my knee, and half because of what had just happened. My sobs echoed against all the cavern walls loudly, coming at me from every direction.

"Doug, get the keys. Now!" I heard Bobby demand. "El, we're coming!"

Soon, I felt Bobby's gentle fingers unlocking the chain from my ankle, careful not to move my knee. He then passed the keys to Edward, who went straight to Brenda.

Bobby leaned over me, placing his hands on my cheeks. "El? El?"

I opened my eyes to look at him, still crying. He reached down to take my hand, but I jerked it away. It was covered in blood, I was a murderer.

"It's ok, El." He whispered. "You did what you had to. It doesn't matter to me."

I slowly stopped crying, then sat up and wrapped my arms around him. He stroked my back for a second, but then pulled away. "We have to hurry." He looked me in the eye, putting his hands on my shoulders. "Can you walk?"

I nodded hesitantly. "Maybe."

"I'll help you." He stood, offering his hands, I took them, rising to my feet, I cried out, my knee throbbing, I was scared to try to figure out what had happened to it…

Bobby held me up, and then looked back at Edward, who was watching worriedly. "She'll make it. Are you ok, Brenda?"

She nodded, and Bobby held me tighter.

"Let's get out of here."


	22. Chapter 21 Final Stretch

El's POV

We walked out of the cavern, finding a long tunnel ahead of us, the speck of light that indicated the end seemed miles away, and none of us were particularly fast at the moment.

We made our way out, going as fast as we could, running, for us.

Suddenly, Venus came out of a side cavern, tackling Edward to the ground.

"Edward!" I screamed, Brenda attacked Venus, but soon realized it would do no good. She turned and ran back to the cavern.

The railroad spikes.

She was back sooner than I thought possible, and she stabbed the spike through Venus' neck before I had time to close my eyes. Bobby held me close; he knew I'd had more than enough of the murder and gore. But Edward was okay, and I flashed Brenda a thankful glance as she helped him to his feet.

Two down.

Brenda's POV

Once out of the mines, we ran as fast as we could toward the gas station, which was thankfully in sight. Even going at our fastest it was slow going, between El's leg and the rest of our injuries, we were lucky we didn't collapse before we got there.

Doug was the first to make it to the car behind the store. He climbed into the driver's seat and tried to start the car. Nothing.

"It won't start!" He called, climbing out.

"I'll just get the battery cables out and then we'll have to walk back to the truck." Bobby said. "There's no way we're gonna be able to fix this thing fast enough."

Bobby carefully led El over to the car so she'd have something to lean on while he got the cables.

"They're out here looking for Catherine already, they'll see us." I said, worried.

"There's only three of them now, if we have to fight, the odds are on our side." Edward stated.

"He's right." Bobby called from under the hood. "Got 'em. Let's go."

Batter cables in hand, we started our long walk back to Edward and El's truck. The sun beat down on us almost like a watchful eye, its light making it easy for those freaks to see us. It amazed me how easily I could curse something that I'd longed for the past couple of days.

Edward never left my side, nor did Bobby leave El's, as Doug led the way. Catherine was the only thing that drove his determination, his life.

The sun climbed higher as the distance between the truck and us diminished. Then, the sight we all had been waiting for appeared. The truck before us and two of the freaks behind us. The one with the disformed arm and the youngest with her foot problems were behind us now.

We raced toward the truck as they closed the gap between us and them. Doug was again the first to arrive and our helper in Bobby's sweatshirt with Catherine in her arms was waiting for him. She handed Doug his daughter, and he said a few words to her.

She smiled, but shook her head.

Bobby quickly helped El into the truck, then dashed around to the front and lifted the hood. Edward climbed into the driver's seat, while I took the passenger seat. Doug had already climbed into the bed of the truck.

"Finished." Bobby yelled as he slammed the hood shut. The freak with the disformed arm was almost to us. The younger one seemed to have given up and was slowly walking toward us. Bobby jumped in the truck beside El and pulled her close as Edward started the engine.

Edward put the truck in drive and slammed on the gas just as the freak pulled open his door. Not letting his foot off the pedal, Edward pushed the freak off of him. She fell and the back tire of the truck ran over her body as we drove away.

Edward took my hand as we fled the desert. My heart was still beating quick, though I wasn't sure if it was fear that the last freak, Tumor, would come after us or just being near Edward again. He glanced back at Bobby and El, and I followed his gaze. El was resting her head on Bobby's shoulder, and he had his arms wrapped protectively around her. I squeezed Edward's hand and he smiled down at me as if to say he didn't care anymore.

Safety. I had almost forgotten what it felt like.


	23. Chapter 22 Aftermath

Brenda's POV

We crossed over the Texas state border just as the sun was rising. El and Bobby were asleep using each other as pillows, and Doug and Catherine were also resting peacefully, even in the truck bed. And I myself was almost asleep on Edward's shoulder.

"We'd better stop somewhere." I said after he yawned for the fourth time.

"How are we going to pay for it?" He asked.

"Doug still has a credit card." I mumbled tiredly.

"OK." Edward replied, just before I fell asleep.

We rested in Texas a few days before heading on to Florida. We all went to the ER, saying we had been in a car wreck, luckily, they bought it. El's knee had been the worst of all our injuries, but we all had some broken ribs. Doug's and El's noses were broken; my jaw was fractured as well as my right wrist. Edward had the most broken ribs and one of the bones in his arm was broken too, and everyone but Doug got stitches for where we had been knocked out.

When we arrived in Florida, we went to Doug's house. He seemed the most broken-hearted when he went into he and Lynn's bedroom. All of this seemed like a lifetime ago, and it amazed us how normal it all seemed, almost unreal.

After a few weeks, Doug had adoption papers drawn up for Edward and El. He sent them to Phoenix and two weeks later, they came back signed by Edward and El's parents.

A month and three weeks after we got back to Florida, school started, and I found that I no longer fit in with my old friends, and that didn't bother me. I ended up hanging with El in between classes and Edward during them. It seemed most of the school thought I was dating 'the new hottie from Phoenix' as most of the girls called Edward, but we weren't dating…at first. We both thought it was weird to have a relationship off of the horror we went through together, but we found it hard to stand by the decision. So, after a month and one annoying ex-boyfriend, or ex-girlfriend in Edward's case, we decided that there was no way we were gonna be happy with anyone but each other. It seemed El and Bobby came to the same conclusion.


	24. Epilogue

Brenda's POV

Life never stands still, nor does the world. Time goes on as it has since its birth, but there are moments where it seems to slow, even if it's only for a second. Every moment I spent with Edward was like that.

We're still in love even though our adventure in the desert is over and we hardly leave each other's side. We're both attending the University of Miami now, I'm in premed with El while he's in Law, and Bobby is just taking core classes. He planned to follow in our father's footsteps and become a cop.

Catherine grew quickly and didn't seem to remember anything that happened, thank God, but Doug was never himself again. He didn't talk much, he really quit smoking, and Catherine was the only one of us that could ever get him to smile, but life went on as usual.

As normal as we all acted, there was, and still is, no getting around what happened to us, but good things did come from it. We now have each other and the love that sparked in that God-forsaken desert, and the horror that we survived there.

El's POV

Nothing could have compared to the joy I felt when Edward and I'd parents dumped us off with Doug. I'd never been so happy that they didn't give a damn about us.

Going to school in Florida was…different, and we never stopped carrying the burden of those five days in the desert with us. They were scars that would never go away, but the fact that we all shared them only drew us closer.

I never could bring myself to date anyone, neither could Bobby. When we tried, we ended up being mad at each other until whoever it was broke up with their partner, we always felt stupid for trying afterward.

One night, when we were laying on Doug's roof looking at the stars, he told me he loved me. And I realized I'd never loved anyone else.

The rest, you can guess.

Of course, we all still have the occasional nightmare, but we're never alone when we wake up.

When you think about it, the only thing that could ever compare to the way we all love each other…is the desert. The endless Constance, nothing changing, the only place you can see how beautiful a sunrise looks, the only place you can ever appreciate it.

That is the way I love him.

Ironic, huh?


	25. IMPORTANT MESSAGE

Hello peoples

Hello peoples! We have returnethed with a question for you. IF we were to do a sequel for this fic. ……..IF! Would you like it to be horror? Pure romance? Fluff? Drama/Action? Just give us some sort of idea. We've been begged to do a sequel multiple times, but we're not exactly sure what to do, we really feel we lucked up pleasing you with the first one, so we would like help, lol. Thanks and send your input by PM if you don't mind!

Cassie and Liz


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